Iran would block the Strait of Hormuz in response to possible security threats from the United States, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Seyyed Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi said Wednesday.

In an interview with Interfax news agency, Sajjadi said Iran would take countermeasures if the U.S. struck the country's nuclear facilities.

"If Iran feels that its security is threatened, it is natural that Iran considers itself entitled to respond and give an appropriate answer. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is among the options of this appropriate answer," Sajjadi was quoted as saying.

"We believe that this scenario (the U.S. strike) is possible," he said, adding that Iran has enough power to block the strait for "self-defense."

In recent days, some Iranian government and military officials have threatened that Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz if the West imposed sanctions targeting its oil exports.

Following an International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran's nuclear program in November, the United States, Britain and Canada announced new sanctions against Tehran and still are working to impose an embargo on Iran's crude exports.